This acquisition seriously strengthened Revolut’s foundation in India as the company eyes full-scale digital banking setup.
The move will accelerate Revolut’s plans to offer its remittance service and forex services to Indian customers.
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Arvog has a wide presence across India and provides services including cross-border remittances (sending money abroad) and other forex services. Avrog has a presence across the country and has over 20 branches and catered to over 15000 people last year.
The acquisition cost Revolut India roughly $45.5 million in its first tranche of investments from the UK-based parent.
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Paroma Chatterjee, the CEO of Revolut India said the company plans to begin with payments by offering cross-border remittances, followed by trading and investments.
“Post that we will evolve into offering credit for both businesses and individuals. Once we have managed to make a meaningful presence in payments, investments, and credit, then that’s a logical step to take a leap forward into forming a full-fledged digital bank,” Chatterjee said.
“Our significant investment plans, this acquisition and the quality of the team we are putting together reflect our intention to rapidly roll out these innovative products and services. India is a key region in our global expansion plan and this acquisition is testament to the rapid strides we want to make here,” said Paroma Chatterjee, chief executive officer, Revolut India in a statement on Friday.
Revolut has been expanding beyond the United Kingdom and the United States markets and secured an $800-million funding led by Tiger Global and SoftBank in July last year, which valued the startup at $33 billion.
“The $800-million funding was to fuel Revolut’s global expansion strategy. So pretty much the money is on-tap, and the $45 million is the initial round. We have the assurance that as we need money it will be available and Revolut is definitely committed to being in India for the long run,” Chatterjee said.